


Nuka World: Part III

by RieWiggles



Series: Stories of the Wastelanders: MacCready Arc [3]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Commonwealth Minutemen, F/M, Minutemen, Nuka World, raider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-11-22 23:28:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11390646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RieWiggles/pseuds/RieWiggles
Summary: After returning from the Texas trip, Nate asks Quinn and MacCready to check out Nuka World for Minutemen expansion. Meanwhile, both try to repair their relationship with Duncan, who has lost trust in them. While the duo reluctantly lands in a position of Overboss, Duncan begins to question if the Raider life is right for him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

**I’ve made a story synopsis on Tumblr so if you’re up to knowing what goes down, it’s there. This is just a more detailed version of Quinn’s story.**

* * *

 

**February, 2292**

* * *

 

For months, Duncan felt that Quinn and MacCready abandoned him. Both noted that they would never leave him again. Duncan wanted to believe it- he truly wanted to. The relationship between him and his father and step-mother remained strained for awhile, just until he gained their trust again.

Being nine years old at the end of September of 2291, Duncan was an incredibly smart kid. He was a tinkerer, but he was also a bookworm. Piper gave him books during the journey of his parents, just to keep his mind off things. Duncan, with the help of Nat, began to make comics for Diamond City passerby, just to make him feel better.

During his time with Nat, he saw her as an older sister above all. She was blossoming into her teenage years. She kind of saw Duncan as a “twerp,” but at the same time, she understood that he was dealing with a rough time, and offered her shoulder for comfort.

When MacCready and Quinn came back, they were noticeably beat up from their trip. Piper was livid to know that they went on an ancestry hunt. Quinn tried to explain that it was well worth it in the end, and noted that all the information was very useful. When Duncan went through the research that his father found, he was excited to know some new information, but nonetheless upset.

After seeing the vibrant community that Sanctuary was becoming, the duo decided it would be best to remain there. After all, Diamond City and Goodneighbor were becoming easier to go to with the improvements that were under way. The Commonwealth was slowly becoming safer than the Capital Wasteland. Routes were becoming heavily guarded. Homes were beginning to be built correctly, with people stepping up, some who were former Brotherhood members who knew a thing or two about architecture, or even the former Institute scientists who were found along the way. Nate was slowly making the world he once knew and loved. Duncan especially loved Sanctuary. Piper confessed to the duo that during the building of the settlement, which came to play after rigorous work of making concrete walls, Duncan helped and became an important member in building the homes. A new home for him was built in surprise, but his goal to surprise his parents went away when his anger set in. All the repressed rage set such a strain that communicating with the kid was almost like communicating with a bratty teenager.

* * *

 

One day, Nate made way into the home. Business went bad for the mercenaries when they moved, but they also took into account that the move was for the child. Nate entered the bedroom to notice both were sleeping soundly. “Hey,” he said, out loud, but not harshly. MacCready instantly jumped out of bed, ready to grab his rifle until he noticed the General of the Minutemen. “You shouldn’t walk in on people,” the mercenary said, groggily, but in a harsh tone.

“I apologize for startling you. I need something.”

“Look, if you need people dead, we’re happy to do it, but just wait until we’re ready,” MacCready barked. He sat on the mattress and rubbed his eyes. Quinn was already rubbing hers.

In a matter of minutes, Quinn was already out of bed and at the table, with Nate sitting there with an uncomfortable position in play. MacCready made himself out of the room, his gear bag dragging through the floor. “What do you need?” He asked, still groggily.

Nate sighed, before getting more comfortable.

“I found a signal for a place called Nuka World.”

“Nuka World?” MacCready shot up. One thing he loved was Amusement Parks, even if they were, well, two hundred years past closure.

“Yeah. I’ve got a lot on my shoulders. I need someone to check them out.”

“Why us?” Quinn used a hot plate to heat up tea. Their appliances, being over two hundred years old and taken from deteriorated appliance stores, weren’t quite ready for hookup.

“I heard you two aren’t getting business here. You’ll be paid enough to last awhile.”

MacCready gave his wife an excited look. Quinn rolled her eyes before nodding.

“We’ll check it out.”

* * *

 

“Oh, so you’re both going to leave me again?” Duncan slammed his comic book onto the ground. He got off his bed. “In case you forgot, you were gone for over a year!”

“We get it, Duncan. You’re upset with us, and you have every right to be.”

“More like a huge ‘fuck Duncan,’ Dad!”

“Language!”

MacCready felt very guilty for taking the job. He turned to Quinn and gave her an expression only she read: he had a suggestion.

“Karlie, let’s take him with.”

“What?” Quinn’s puzzled look had a hint of “are you fucking kidding me?”

MacCready pulled Quinn over before saying, “Look, he knows his way around a gun and he has to go out there sooner or later.”

“Have you been dropped on your fucking head?”

“I can hear you both!” Duncan called from his room.

He came out with his rifle. It was MacCready’s old sniper, back from even when Nate recruited him.

“You want my trust, win me over. I’ll come with.”

The kid placed the rifle on the coffee table before moving into his room. He put on his favorite shirt. It was black, printed like an old medicinal advertisement, but promoting sarcasm. Duncan put a red jacket on, before tying his shoes.

“See? You two just sat here and picked your asses and I’ve just finished getting ready in a span of a minute. Trust points don't come easily.”

The duo looked at each other. MacCready realized that Duncan was turning into the kid he once was.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

**I’ve made a story synopsis on Tumblr so if you’re up to knowing what goes down, it’s there. This is just a more detailed version of Quinn’s story.**

* * *

 

**February, 2292**

* * *

 

Throughout the day the duo hesitantly gathered their belongings and hit the road. The route was through the Southwest entrance. As they passed the stream of water, Quinn grabbed a handful, before flushing her face with it. Duncan remained ahead. While he wasn’t too fond of his parents, he still had that wave of adventure hit him. Maybe the adventure was all he needed to forgive them.

The night was cold, but the tents were warm. The perfect combination gave the boy a sense of snug and comfort. As he wrote in his journal, Duncan imagined Nuka World- how it looked in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, and how many ghouls he imagined he would fight. It wouldn’t be his first time against one, after all, while his parents weren’t around, Cait was the one who showed him how to fight. Her pride affected his, as his confidence even surpassed hers.

When the family got to the entrance, via following the distress signal, they quickly got down over the sight of gunners. Duncan reloaded his rifle. While MacCready ordered his wife and son to stay put, he inched outwards. His finger almost pressing down, the mercenary aimed for a precision shot to the captain’s head. Quinn kept guard as her husband did his wonders. Duncan prepared the supplies in case something went wrong.

After the shot rang from the rifle, Duncan quickly sprang to action. He got up, began firing, and quickly got down before the gunners were able to fire back. The father and son soon set their guns on the rock before aiming. Quinn remained on the ground, firing from the side, laying on her husband’s back calves.

“Kill the other two and get the kid!” one of the gunners yelled.

MacCready soon ran upwards behind the parking garage to his left. Quinn remained in the back, at the rock. The mercenary was just beginning to fire another shot, until the bullet hit the scope.

“Damn!” He yelled, which prompted the gunners to move forward. Duncan was behind the other parking garage, and continued to fire.

Quinn noticed a gas trail and sprang to action. She pulled out a near-empty bottle of whiskey that she had the night before, before ripping her old green tank from inside her bag. “You got a lighter, Robbie?” Quinn yelled, before her husband reached into his pocket. He threw her a gold-plated flip lighter, which didn’t make it.

“Oh fuck me!” Quinn yelled, before reaching her hand out to grab it. A bullet sliced through the top of her forearm. Despite it burned, she kept onward and grabbed the lighter.

She ignited the Molotov before throwing it. Majority of the gunners were placed on top of the gas, and were too focused on Duncan’s shots and MacCready’s lack of scope to notice it break. As the gunners burned, Duncan was about to move outwards.

“Wait!” Quinn and MacCready both yelled. He didn’t know that the bullets from the burned corpses would fly all over the place. When the popping stopped, the family made their way outwards, and quickly away from the burned smell.

“Lesson for you, boy,” the mercenary began, “Just because they’re dead in a fire doesn’t mean you’re done.” The fire continued to dance as the trio made their way around it. “When fire hits the bullets, they’ll be flying all over. When I was in the gunners, some didn’t know that either, until, well, they got hit.” Duncan looked back, before releasing a sigh. “Thanks,” he said through the air between his gritted teeth. He was relieved to know, but he felt a sense of defeat when his father lectured.

The moment Quinn opened the door, both father and son sneezed. The air was musty and dusty. “Damn dust is going right into my nose!” the mercenary said in a nasally voice. Quinn slowly made her way down, her pistol in the air. Just then, she saw an injured person resting against some debris.

“Shit, I’m gonna die!” he called out.

Quinn noticed from his facial expressions that he wasn’t in any real pain. A wastelander would be able to distinguish it.

“Robbie,” she called, as her husband stepped down from the last step of the staircase. Behind him was Duncan. After he got a good look of the man, MacCready said sarcastically, “Well, finish him. What are you waiting for?”

“Wait! Please!” The man called.

“You can take me- Okay, take me. But my family’s been kidnapped! You have to help them!”

Duncan noted that the man seemed sincere. “Mom, Dad, maybe we should-“

“Well, here. If your family is so important, you’re no good dead. Take a stimpack.” Quinn held out the aid, handing it over to the man. He refused.

“That’s… not necessary.”

“Then what’s your jig?” MacCready approached towards the man.

Duncan was confused.

“Alright, alright. I can’t do this anymore.!” The man got up. “The Raiders back at Nuka World put me up to this.”

Duncan realized that his parents weren’t so easy to fool.

“They lure people in and… kill them for fun… and I’m done doing their dirty work. Let them find me and do what they want.”

“Sounds like typical raiders to me,” MacCready called from behind his wife. He was tinkering with his broken scope.

“You don’t get it. These raiders are different. They make Commonwealth raiders look like a bunch of kids.”

Duncan wandered over into the booth before noticing a terminal. He made a gesture for his Dad to come forward. The man noticed.

“Here, take this. It’s the password for the monorail control terminal.” The man gave a paper to Quinn.

“The fastest way to get to Nuka-World is through the Nuka-Express, but I shut it down to help sell my story. Makes it more believable if I say I’m trying to keep the raiders at bay. Use the terminal in the office to power it back up, but once you’re on your way… be careful.”

“Thanks, uh-“

“Harvey.”

Harvey proceeded to make his way out of the tunnel. Quinn looked down at the paper, before wandering over to the booth. “Here,” she said, before handing it to her step-son. He typed in the password, then turned on the train.

“Oh no,” MacCready said in an annoyed manner.

The monorail was definitely working, given by the annoying announcing system.

“I swear this speaking chick is going to kill me before the Raiders do,” the mercenary burst, before groggily making his way into the monorail. Quinn shrugged. Duncan quickly got in, before making his way to the seat.

“Now we know what you would have been if the world was the same,” Quinn noted by Duncan’s fascination with the controls. She took a seat next to her husband.

“Do you think what Harvey said about the raiders being way more dangerous is true?” the step-son soon called from the seat. Quinn gave a look to her husband. He was almost asleep. The ginger sighed, before replying, “One way to find out.”

Duncan pressed the button.

[“Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor, matengase alejado de las puertas.”]

The music was beginning to get on their nerves.

* * *

 

“Hello! And on behalf of the Nuka Cola corporation, we’d like to welcome each and every one of you aboard the Nuka-Express Monorail.”

[“For your own safety, please remain seated-“]

MacCready groaned again. “Please someone just turn it off!”

[“…is in motion.”]

Quinn got up from the seat, grabbing the guides before looking out into the deserted wasteland. She felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time- regret. Before the war, there was opportunity for them to visit as she grew up. Quinn, on the other hand, hated hearing about Nuka Cola. While it was a great drink to have with Sunday dinners, it wasn’t her favorite drink in the world.

[“If you direct your attention to the right side of the monorail, you can observe Nuka-World’s famous Fizztop Mountain.”]

Duncan wandered back and forth on the monorail, hands in the air to keep his balance. MacCready didn’t get up from his spot. He had a terrible feeling in his gut, but he tried to ignore it by trying to go back to his nap.

[“Standing at over 100 meters tall, Fizztop Mountain is the largest man-made structure in Nuka-World, and features the five-star Fizztop Grille.”]

“Karlie, we should get some drinks there if we survive!”

“I think after this, Duncan might deserve one too.”

The kid looked back, giving his step-Mom an excited look. Needless to say she felt love that her step-son was still a kid.

Suddenly, over the announcer was static. The family instantly perked up.

“Well, look who learned the truth and still showed up. I guess Harvey played his cards right after all.”

“Fuck me!” Quinn whispered.

“I only got a minute, so you better listen and listen good. The name’s Gage. Porter Gage. And our mutual friend Harvey only told you half the truth. You’re still heading straight into a death trap.”

“Like we didn’t know that,” MacCready said sarcastically.

“But if you three somehow make it through alive, I have an interesting offer for you. In the meantime, have fun and put on a good show. I’ll be watching.”

Static ended as the train made its way to its stop.

When the trio came out, they were baffled to see the trash and gore sprawled about. As they explored the area finding any clues or even traps that could land an imminent and painful death, another voice suddenly came through via the static.

“Attention all my favorite undesirables out there. In case you haven’t noticed, looks like we got ourselves some fresh meat to run the Gauntlet!”

Quinn noticed through the back car, that there was a gap. She instantly got an idea.

“Not fucking today,” she said.

“Robbie!” The mercenary approached his wife, and urged for his child to come towards them. Duncan did just that, but with an attitude. Quinn pointed up to the gap.

“Boost me up, and then get Duncan up there. We’re getting the fuck out of here!”

MacCready gave a mischievous smile. Although he was curious to see how dangerous the obstacle course was, he could do without dying. He got into position, as his wife climbed up atop a cage. She held her hand out for Duncan. When MacCready got on top, via help from both of them, the Raiders picked up on what was happening.

“Wait- what? Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but fucking here!” Quinn yelled, before holding out a lovely gesture for all the raiders to see. Her husband made that same gesture before he blew raspberries. Duncan laughed so hard he thought he was going to fall off the monorail.

An army of raiders began to race to the monorail entrance. Quinn tried her best to get Duncan down safely, to which he was able to. MacCready landed in the bushes, but other than scratches, he was fine. Quinn was the last to get off, right before the Raiders all made themselves over.

They instantly used the bushes to make their way out, but not the direction the raiders expected. The family ran as fast as they could, out into the deserted wasteland, just before nightfall hit.

* * *

 

“They’re going to fucking find us!”

“Language, Duncan!”

MacCready tried to fix his scope, but unfortunately had no luck doing so. The lense was cracked. “Without this damn thing we might as well be raider food!” the mercenary yelled, frustrated, before tossing his gun to the ground. Quinn was rubbing two caps in her hand, keeping guard for anyone willing to take them. The ginger’s mind raced. “When I find a new scope for my rifle, we’re doing recon around the place. We figure out the best place to strike, collect our notes, make it back to the Commonwealth, and let the Minutemen do the rest of the work.”

“Gage said he had an offer for us,” Quinn quickly replied.

“Well, this ‘Gage’ is a raider. You really going to take his word?”

“There might be caps.”

“Screw the damn caps!” Quinn’s never heard that come out of her husband.

“And a way to fix your damn scope!” Quinn looked up to her husband.

“Because clearly fixing that scope will also fix your shitty attitude.”

Duncan quietly started to laugh. His Dad gave him a look that prompted the kid quickly change his expression. Along the horizon, Quinn noticed an establishment settled on top of a highway. “Robbie, look,” she said softly, pointing upward. The location and execution said a thousand words to the mercenary.

“Gunners.”

“Up for taking them out?” Quinn asked softly.

“With my lack of scope? Come the frick on, Karlie!”

“Then why don’t me and Mom go?” The mercenary turned to his son. His expression was enough to make him sit down.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“How about this: Duncan, you stay behind us, and Dad uses your gun? You use his with the broken scope, and we take over that waypoint.”

Duncan smiled mischievously before handing his gun over to his father. He picked up the rifle with the broken scope. The family made their way over, until Quinn separated and took another approach from the far east end. MacCready aimed over to the captain’s head- after all, a dead one leaves them scrambling like rats.

Quinn kept Duncan with her as both kept close range. After the bottom Gunners were taken care of, MacCready moved to Quinn’s spot, before climbing up the hills. Once he got a spot above the highway, Quinn and Duncan made their way up the elevator.

After the highway was cleared, the family settled down. MacCready read the terminal entries, while Quinn and Duncan made a spot on their new beds. The mercenary then began to look through all the loot for any replacement scopes. Duncan pulled his journal out, before making an entry.

“Crabby Dad and Zombie Mom,” he whispered. The gusts from the night breeze flipped the pages, but nonetheless, he didn’t mind. After all, the further they were from the ocean, the hotter it would be in the daytime.

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

**I’ve made a story synopsis on Tumblr so if you’re up to knowing what goes down, it’s there. This is just a more detailed version of Quinn’s story.**

* * *

 

**February, 2292**

* * *

 

The cool morning had Duncan up bright and early. As he kept watch, allowing his parents to sleep, he contemplated on whether their knowledge of the wasteland truly was enough for him to trust them. The kid was so tied on dealing with his repressed motions that he didn’t notice a group sneak up on them.

Everything blacked out.

Duncan woke up to cheering. When he came to, he spotted a skull that was placed next to him. Getting up, the kid noticed is parents were preparing.

“How did we even get here?” Quinn said, worried.

Just as they were packing some ammunition, a voice came through over the intercom.

“Are the three of you ready to hear me talk or what? Listen the hell up if you want to make it out of this alive!”

Quinn sighed before hitting the button. “Oh, we’re ready for you to talk.” Her voice was frustrated yet threatening. “How’d you dickweeds find us?”

“That’s not important. What’s important is how the three of you are going to make it out alive.”

MacCready scoffed.

“Listen. The whole thing’s rigged, you hear me? That power armor of his- the damn thing’s invincible. However, I got a little trick for you guys to roll your sleeves for. Go to the locker. I assume your husband’s sulking beside it.”

“Sulking my ass!” MacCready leaned up against the locker door. He spotted a small alien-like pistol on the bottom shelf.

“Let me guess, it’s the damn squirt gun isn’t it?” Quinn held the button so tight she felt her layers strip.

“Just listen to me. You wanna win this fight, one of you’s blast him with that. It will cut his power supply and leave him defenseless.”

“So we’re just going to take your word?” MacCready’s eyes looked baggy. Duncan got up from his sleeping spot, before grabbing the gun.

“It’s worth a shot. I’ll get ‘im with it,” the boy replied.

“That’s the spirit, kid,” said the raider over the intercom.

Before they made their way to the tunnel of battle, Duncan kept hold of the gun. It was easy to spot that his parents were afraid.

“All right! Disciples! Are you ready for blood?”

[“Death… Death… Death…”]

“And the Pack! Are you ready for things to get wild?”

Cheers and howls echoed through the arena.

“Operators! Are you ready to see me notch up a few kills?”

Heartfelt applause rang so loud, they felt the ground move.

“And you three! Are you ready to die?”

The door opened.

“Let’s do this!”

Quinn and MacCready instantly took cover behind the cars, but didn’t fire. Duncan, with the squirt gun in his hand, took cover next to his Dad, before spraying it. He kept calm; after all, it was his life on the line above his family. After what felt like the whole gun, the power armor instantly exploded, fog filling the air. Quinn and MacCready both fired at it. Gasps echoed through the joint. Everything went silent, in exception to the sounds of firearms.

An even bigger gasp emitted everyone’s lips once Colter fell over. The family emerged from the wrecked cars.

A familiar voice shouted through the intercom.

“Holy shit! I don’t… I don’t even know what this means! Colter, man, he’s out! Gage, what the hell just happened?”

“You saw it. We all saw it! Colter’s dead. We got ourselves a few new Overbosses.”

“These rats? Are you sure, Gage?” Quinn’s attention moved straight to a man in face paint and furry clothing.

“You better know what the hell you’re doing!” Another leader spoke up.

“Hey, we talked about this! They got out of the Gauntlet! They took my advice, and strong enough to kill Colter. They’re what we need!”

The family all looked at each other, like something just died. Well, something did just die, but something surprising.

“So how about we show respect to our new leaders, eh?”

“They’ll get respect when they earn respect.”

MacCready cautiously approached the man in the rusty armor. He may have been behind locked doors, but he was within conversation.

“Alright, alright, get the hell out of here! I’ll show the new Overbosses around!”

He instantly smiled to the mercenary. MacCready was as confused as he was when he woke up.

“What did I tell you? Worked like a charm.”

“So, you really wanted that Jerkoff dead?” MacCready kept his gun close.

“Dead? ‘Out of the way,’ What’s the difference? Either way, good riddance. The plan was a success.”

“Death by squirtgun,” Quinn murmured. “I’d love to see the message on his tombstone.”

“Tell me about it! Wish I had a better look at his face when his suit shorted out. I get that you have no idea what’s goin’ on, and everything’s comin’ at you real fast, but you need to listen. Taking out Colter wasn’t just a last-minute decision. It was something a few of us have been working on here for a while. Now that he’s actually gone, we got ourselves a vacancy in the Overboss department. While we’ve never had three, let alone a kid, you guys just got the job.”

Gage’s eyes were intimidating, as Duncan were to put it. He did look scuffed and beat up, no doubt, but not nearly as intimidating as his father. The man was bigger, definitely somewhat muscular. His teeth were also rotted. His clothing consisted of washed up metal armor and ripped undergarments.

Quinn sighed. She pulled her sunglasses from her face, before rubbing the lenses in with her shirt.

“All I’m askin’ is that you trust me on this, and give it a shot. I swear it’ll be worth it.”

“First, mercenary business, now we’re running Raiders? Robbie, remember when I told you I just wanted to sleep in?” Quinn turned to her husband with a very condescending look. He shrugged.

“Maybe you will this time, Sweetie.”

“I’d agree with your husband here,” Gage called in.

The mercenary yawned, before replying, “If this is some other kind of trap, we’ll make sure you end up just like your squirty friend there,” he threatened.

“See? You’re already fitting in.”

* * *

 

Gage soon opened the door. The trio gave one last look of the corpse. Sure, the arena smelled musty- that was normal. The cars scattered throughout the battle arena was actually a sad sight- MacCready imagined how fun they would have been. It took moments for him to realize that it was beating hot in the whole arena. The humidity filled up Quinn’s nose like a cold. Duncan kept his composure, didn’t think twice about anything, other than the fact that he and his parents just got through the deadliest situation they’ve ever been in.

When Gage opened the exit doors, there was no breeze. The trio got their first close look at the park. It was nothing like Quinn had seen in pamphlets and commercials. It was actually very disappointing.

As the trio made their way past other Raiders, Quinn spotted a woman arguing with one. “I didn’t come all the way from the Capital Wasteland-“ She wasn’t able to hear the rest. The murmurs behind her had the ginger curious. When the trio made their way past the other doors, they were astonished by the sight of the giant pond located before them. Duncan came closer. The smell was strong, but not radiated enough to have Quinn’s Geiger Counter ticking. As the trio got a good look of what was left of the deteriorated park, they were already in front of Fizztop Grille. The smell of blood that was splattered before them made Duncan’s stomach churn.

“Don’t mind the mess here,” Gage said jokingly. “Some people lounge here and forget that there’s an elevator.”

The lift made its way to the bottom before the four stepped on. “Can this handle all of our weight?” MacCready asked. Sure Duncan and Quinn didn’t weigh that much, hell, MacCready was rather small too, but the wood didn’t seem very sturdy enough to handle four people.

“Well, it handled Colter. Is that good enough?” MacCready was starting to like the guy.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

**I’ve made a story synopsis on Tumblr so if you’re up to knowing what goes down, it’s there. This is just a more detailed version of Quinn’s story.**

* * *

 

**February, 2292**

* * *

 

“Cozy, ain’t she?” The first place Duncan went to was the fridge. It wasn’t like the fridges they had in the Commonwealth. At least those worked. The bar that was neatly placed in the middle was nothing like MacCready’s ever seen before. He jumped over the ledge and began to look for the best-looking drink. Quinn was the only one who wasn’t awed by the look of the loft. One of her least favorite memories actually came to mind: the bar in the Brothel. She played it off as if she was nonchalant, but Gage saw better. “I see you’re not very fond of your new home,” he whispered.

“I could care less about it, but it makes me happy to see my boys are enjoying it.”

Quinn took a small glance around the surroundings. She was uncomfortable, rather untrusting of the new situation. It happened so fast, just like everything else. The blur of time from before, from when she was taken from her Vault, thrown into the Brothel, had taught her to remain vigilant.  MacCready definitely felt untrusting as well, but he knew that there wasn’t going to be any gun-drawing.

Duncan’s actions seemed rather questioning. Both mercenaries saw the boy had already began to embrace the Raider life.

That night, the two had a hard time adjusting. It had been a long time since they slept with two mattresses. They didn’t have a fan to blow on their burning feet. There was no air conditioning. Since Sanctuary began its building project, with the help of protection from concrete walls, which took a couple years to build, as well as missile turrets, anyone who was capable found ways to repair old appliances. A new project went underway for barreled air conditioning, since Sturges was unable to find a way to repair old air conditioners. The barrels became a large hit, landing the one who constructed them into a load of caps. The materials were fairly easy to find, and while it was easy to construct, it took months of planning.

In Boston, it was cool at night with the ocean nearing.

At Nuka World, however, the nights were always different. There was no telling if it would be cool or warm.

Quinn spent the night roaming Fizztop Grille. With her pistol in hand, she checked the electricity. It was surprising to see that the Raiders were capable of working with the materials around them, despite their boldness of lifestyle. The Ginger, unlike her husband and step-son, was flat out not into the raider life. She saw the slaves walking around, doing the dirty work, then realizing that it was a bit too much like Paradise Falls.

There was no light in the place, figuratively.

\--

Yawns were exchanged throughout the tower. Duncan, on the other hand, slept soundly. He was the only one who seemed to have not minded the tower that night. As they quickly pulled out anything good enough to eat, Gage stepped out of the elevator.

“You’ll be meeting the gangs today.”

Gage just heard grunts coming from the duo.

“Don’t be like that. They don’t like boring people. Just introduce yourselves, make promises you’ll keep, and be on your way.”

Quinn insisted on going together as a trio, but Duncan objected. “I’ll introduce myself to The Pack. It’d be faster if we split up.”

“And why do we have to be fast about this? I thought we were going to dive into the good stuff,” MacCready noted to Gage.

“You need their trust first. I’m sure as a mercenary, you’re aware of that.”

“And how did you know-“

“I just do.”

The mercenary smiled. He pointed his finger out, making an up-down motion. MacCready got up from his seat. After equipping some gear, he came up to his wife, who still wasn’t awake, and gave her a hug from behind. “Hurry up,” he called from her ear, before planting a kiss to her neck. She didn’t acknowledge much of it. Gage wasn’t too enthused about her waking up skills.

* * *

 

Quinn made her way inside, with her gun drawn. “Nisha will be glad to meet you,” a guard from the door called, as she closed the rest of the door. The ginger nodded. As she slowly walked forward, before her was a brightened area, that gave her the impression that Pickman decided to go Avant Garde. As music blasted through the small radios that occupied the joint, on that note, the smell caused Quinn to pull a joint in itself, she was instantly greeted by a figure masked in metal. The ginger quickly lit her mutkush before approaching the figure.

“Never smelled that before. Is it common in the Commonwealth?”

“I see what you did there.”

“I didn’t say it to be funny. My gang wouldn’t mind it.”

Quinn saw a curve from under the metal. Nisha smiled.

“Nisha, right?”

“You’re a quick one, aren’t you. Pretty, for the matter.”

“You can see under that?”

Nisha gave a laugh.

“I’ve never seen a woman with real freckles. Only blood freckles.”

Quinn instantly felt uncomfortable. Maybe her husband would have been better off introducing himself or… no one should introduce themselves to The Disciples.

“So, you’re Gage’s little pet project. The three of you, Overbosses.”

“And what are you- his grandma?”

“Heh, if I was, I would’ve slit that little suckup’s throat a long time ago. Gage will never be one of us. He’s a failure. He’s lucky we’re giving him a second chance.”

Quinn gave a grunt in response. She was surprised by the answer.

“Everyone knows we all wanted Colter dead. ‘Course if I had my way, it would’ve been a slow, painful process. But whatever.”

Quinn gave a look to Savoy, who just stood idle next to her. He seemed laid-back, much more than the rest.

“I lead the Disciples. We’ve only got one rule around here, and that’s keeping the peace of this… alliance. Otherwise, the way we see it, this world stopped caring about rules the moment people started dropping bombs on one another.”

“Mm- I bet you guys are great at parties.” Quinn replied in a monotone, less-caring tone.

She wanted to keep her composure to not exploit that she was uncomfortable. She looked down at her Pip-Boy.

“Side with us, you’ll soon find out. Just don’t slack off when it comes to actually doing your job. We got Colter Nuka-Town, and suddenly he forgot the big picture. We both know how that turned out. Although, I could give him a little credit. He built the Gauntlet after all. Of course, it was total shit at first. No imagination, but we spiced it up a bit. Obviously, you and your little… family didn’t get to see the fun in it all.”

“Probably because we exploited a way out and know how to climb.” Quinn began to become a bit more comfortable.

“Let’s just hope Gage is right about you. We didn’t get to see your potential. He made a lot of promises to get us here, and never followed through. So you better not screw this up because I’m not about to tolerate another round of bullshit.”

Quinn nodded for a moment. She clicked her tongue in her cheek.

“We’ll do things our way, but I’m sure our interests aren’t too far off.”

“They better not be. You see, The Disciples don’t make empty threats, we make good on them. We aren’t swayed by caps like those spoiled brats obsessed with their hair, or those savage animals who can’t behave in public. Fuck this up, and I will kill you. All three of you. First, your little spawn meatsack, then your weaseled little husband, and finally, you. But, if you support us and keep your promises like a good, little Overboss, we back you, you get to live, and everybody wins.”

Quinn’s comfort level soon diminished. She stood for a second, and sighed. She turned her head, before looking back at Nisha.

“We don’t make promises. You’ll do as we say.”

Nisha smiled.

“Looks like you’re already a step above Colter. I’ll see how this plays out… for now. But, if you change your tune and decide to play nice… there’s no shortage of work around here, so if you three are looking to prove what you’ve got what it takes… you know where to find me.”

Quinn left the building. She sighed. The ginger soon made her way back to the mountain to discuss her meeting with Gage.

* * *

 

MacCready was amazed by the Parlor. It was nicely done, for post-war that is. The Operators definitely were a type he could get used to.

“Sorry, Mags. All anyone’s turned up so far is that the girl’s got that Pip-Boy on her arm, and that we now have the reputable mercenary MacCready.”

MacCready slowly made his way past the desk. The terminal didn’t work.

“So the girl is a vault dweller.”

“Or iced a vault dweller.”

"And we have MacCready?"

"The mercenary from a place called Goodneighbor. Heard he has a bad attitude but shoots really well."

“Hmm. You can go.”

The speech heard from the other room gave MacCready no reaction. He was moreover fascinated by the fact that those people can really keep clean.

“Welcome, Overboss.” The uniform wasn’t even too shabby.

“You ever consider becoming mercenaries instead? You’ve got the class,” MacCready noted, as he approached a brother-sister duo, Mags and William Black.

“Hmm. In other news, I suppose we all owe you for putting down Colter,” Mags began.

“Man was an idiot. Made us all look bad.” MacCready looked over to the man standing next to his sister. His right side of his lip moved into his cheek.

“Heh. A clown stuck in his own little car.” The mercenary smirked at the analogy.

“I guess we can take some solace in the fact that someone finally gave him what he deserved. I want to know, what did you feel as you did it? When you brought that walking pile of human garbage to his knees?”

MacCready decided to bring up the conversation.

“First thing’s first, what was that conversation about you bringing up my wife?”

Mags blinked.

“Well… you, Overboss. Your wife is an unknown quantity. We’re interested in knowing who we’re dealing with.”

“My wife is a quality. I’m sure you’ll see that in our work.”

“At least we know now. So, we’d like if you answered the question,” William chimed in.

MacCready groaned. For as interesting as they seemed at first, Mags was slow in her talking, too articulate, and too… boring.

“Bored. Kind of like this conversation, now that you mention it.”

“Hey. You don’t get to talk to Mags that way.”

“It’s all right, William. Regardless, Gage’s decree means that you’re the new Overboss. Being that you have a reputation, MacCready, and yes, we know all about you, we know your attitude, but your skills. I’m confident that you, personally, will be better than the last one. Your wife and son, on the other hand…”

“My wife runs the business with me. My son knows his way around a gun.”

“I suppose that if MacCready is a good of a shot, his son will be too. I’m Mags. This is my brother, William.”

“Pleasure.”

“Along with our co-conspirator Lizzie, we run this crew. Call ourselves the Operators. You’ll come to understand soon enough that we are the only gang you should be backing around here. Because we’re the only ones who see this place for what it is. A temple. A testament to the only thing that matters in this world.”

“The caps.”

“Exactly.” Mags smiled.

“Caps. This place was built for the sole purpose of taking caps out of the pockets of fools. Knowing your place, MacCready, I’m sure you’re familiar with this concept. We only joined Gage and Colter’s little menagerie in order to restore it to that goal… though by somewhat more cutthroat methods than its founders intended.”

“Instead Colter had us sitting on our asses for the better part of a year while he lived large in his damn mountaintop.” William chimed in.

“And that means if you’re going to be in charge around here, we’d like some assurances that you intend to bring this place back to its true purpose. And that means we’re going to get back to robbing folks of their fucking money.”

MacCready was satisfied to hear that the Operators was his exact type of gang.

“I suppose we see eye-to-eye then.” MacCready replied, confidently.

“Well, it’s about damn time!” William said in relief.

“Hmm. You’re exactly what I hoped you’d be, MacCready. I look forward to seeing your claims put into action. So, you’re welcome in the Parlor whenever you like. make yourself at home. And if you think you might be interested in running some jobs for us, you just come speak to me. And we’ll all be anxiously awaiting getting this place back to doing what it does best.”

* * *

 

Duncan made his way into the Amphitheater. While it was definitely a mess, he was fascinated to see the tamed animals. From molerats to mongrels, Duncan went up to pet a few, before making his way towards the Alpha. He seemed discouraged by the fight inside the cage, which was between a molerat and rott, but he tried to ignore it. “Mason, is it?” He called to the man in the throne.

“Can you talk to Mags or something? You said we ain’t allowed to kill any of ‘em so…”

“Tell me. Did you have to walk in a long line to see me?”

“No, I walked right up here.”

“Exactly. Most can handle their own shit without bothering me about it. Do you need help finding your place here?”

“No, No! I can handle it.”

“There’s plenty of collars in the kennels if you can’t.”

Duncan witnessed a conversation between a scavenger and the alpha. Mason didn’t seem to hear his new… little Overboss.

He stood up to Mason. His face was in a pout.

“Now that I get a closer look at you… not sure I’m buying this new Overboss thing. Should’ve had your parents come instead.”

“Fine. I’ll send you my fuckin’ resume if you’re so concerned.” Duncan replied.

“The fuck’s a resume? Whatever. Don’t matter. Your attitude speaks louder than your looks. Name’s Mason. The Pack’s Alpha. This here’s our side of town. You and your parents might be Overboss – for now. But I’m the boss of the Pack. And it’s going to stay that way. Long as you don’t go forgetting that, we’re gonna be fine. You tell your parents that, Kiddo.”

Duncan was becoming irritated with the patronizing.

“Yeah, I’ll tell my parents that you all smell like fucking animals.”

“Hah. Never heard that one before. Look, Kid, if you understand all I’m saying, it ain’t like anyone’s broke up about Colter. Just figured on his replacement being… Well, different. But Gage says that you and your Mum and Dad are the boss now. So, you’re the bosses.”

“How come you never stepped up to be Overboss, then?”

“If I thought the other gangs would go along, yeah. I’d run this place in a heart beat. Might have to – if y’all turn out to be turds. At least it ain’t Mags Black or that freak Nisha. Besides, you three can’t possibly be worse than Colter.”

Duncan sighed. He had his arms crossed.

“Colter was weak. Why’d you follow him at all?”

“Been wondering that ourselves. Don’t get me wrong. Colter was definitely Overboss. Not a man to mess with. And things were good in the beginning. Real good. But that was a year ago. Then Colter went soft. Wanted to ‘take stock in what we achieved.’”

Duncan began to finally open a bit to compassion once he heard of Colter’s softness.

“So, what do you want out of us?”

“Caps. Action. Something! Anything that’s more than the sitting around we been doing for the last year.”

“I’m listening.”

“Sure, this place beats living in the shit holes we had out there. But it ain’t the palace of caps we signed on for. Ain’t none of us happy – not even the Disciples. And they’re normally a chipper bunch so long as they’re drenched in blood. Things were going to hell fast, but Gage put the brakes on that. Got us together and promised he’d find someone to deal with Colter.”

Duncan figured of something to say.

“Look, Kid, I know you probably don’t understand-“

“I totally get it, Alpha.”

“I would hope. Your father’s got a reputation. We’ve heard about the mercenary MacCready. He made big of himself years ago. We’re glad to have him on board, but we don’t know you or your Mum. You’ve gotta step up on your game to please us.”

“We ain’t Colter, so there better not be any plotting against me or my family.”

“Yeah, sure. Boss, I get it. I do. We’re totally willing to give you a chance. We are.”

Duncan wasn’t convinced.

“Look. Let’s cut to the chase. You going to do right by the Pack? I hear your parents have been talking to other gangs.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your fair share of the caps.”

Duncan didn’t like to hear himself say that. Was it the fact that his father would’ve hated to say it? Would he have hated to hear it- of course he would. Duncan felt like he was making a false promise.

“Sure, fine. Bit it ain’t just about the caps. It’s also about respect. If you want us at your heel, we expect to be top dogs around here. One last thing before I let you go.”

Duncan stood straight. He felt his blood stop.

“There’s always work to do around here keeping the Zoo in order. If you’re ever able to lend a hand, drop by. Loyalty’s a two-way street.”

Duncan was surprised that Mason was actually able to handle talking to a kid. Even at the beginning, the tense conversation would have ended badly.

* * *

 

Duncan returned up to the mountain to see his parents and Gage discussion further plans. “Mason wanted me to tell you that they all smell like fucking animals,” Duncan said, before sitting at the bar. He ignored that both his parents yelled “language!” right into his ears.

“Are they on board, Kiddo?” Gage called out.

“Definitely.”

“Then we get to work.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

**I’ve made a story synopsis on Tumblr so if you’re up to knowing what goes down, it’s there. This is just a more detailed version of Quinn’s story.**

* * *

 

**February, 2292**

* * *

 

The first step to getting the park going was setting up a plan. Unfortunately, with the rest of the park shut off from creatures and other hostile entities, Gage had to explain what was truly going on.

“I saw a lot of information in a Gunner terminal. We’ve got Safari Adventure locked down by Gatorclaws, Kiddie Kingdom locked down by ghouls and radiation, Galactic Zone’s run by robots, and Dry Rock Gulch’s down by worm things.” MacCready circled each of the places on the pamphlet.

“Right. Now, the next step is which gang will go in?”

Quinn sat down and yawned.

Duncan decided to speak up.

“The pack’s familiar with animals. Maybe they can get Safari Adventure. The Disciples could have Kiddie Kingdom, and The Operators can take care of Dry Rock Gulch?”

Quinn yawned again.

“What about Galactic Zone?”

“All of us. Robots are more of a hassle than the rest of the guys around.”

MacCready nodded.

“So, Kiddo, say the ghouls are too large a number and we got a lot of charred and glowing ones,” he spat off.

“There are some but not a whole lot,” Gage answered back.

Quinn didn’t say anything.

“Karlie?” MacCready called. He nudged her.

“Mm. Go with Duncan.” Quinn cracked her neck before getting up.

“You alright, hon?”

Quinn was still tired, nonetheless, but was lost in thought over the gangs. She looked to her boys before yawning again.

“Duncan’s makes sense,” she answered back. She groggily walked to the stool before sitting next to her husband.

Quinn began.

“The Pack knows their way around animals. My guess is send them to Dry Rock Gulch and Safari Adventure. The Operators are sophisticated and smooth enough to take out Galactic Zone. Send The Disciples to Kiddie Kingdom. We wipe the place out, have everything all done, then we can take the bottling plant and the power plant next.”

Gage rubbed his eyes. He rubbed his hands together.

“Alright, then. We’ll lay the plans to everyone.”

As the Raider left, MacCready gave another look to his wife.

She was more tired than he ever saw her to be. Maybe the bed wasn’t comfortable? Was she too overwhelmed by the hasty decision of her leadership? Gage was not too impressed with her so far.

The mercenary drew his gun, before searching around the premises for a scope. Duncan nudged his stepmother. Quinn sighed, before taking a stand from her stool. She quickly put on her jeans.

One thing about the piggy-nosed, freckled ginger was the fact that she hated to wear pants.

The trio met at the bottom of Frizztop Grille. Their anxiety kicked up a notch. After all, three raider gangs demanding progression wasn’t their life’s ambition.

* * *

 

Upon entering the market, the obnoxious repeat of Nuka-World’s theme was instantly drowned out by the talking travelers and bargaining slaves. Quinn instantly felt a lump in her throat.

“Slaves? Oh no,” said the ginger, her eyes beginning to well up. She calmed down once she felt her husband’s hand on her shoulder.

MacCready, with Quinn behind him, made his way to the nearest doctor. “Overboss!” the woman shouted. Her hair was frizzy, her eyes tired and worn. Her clothing consisted of ripped gear, just like the other slaves. The mercenary instantly thought that a doctor shouldn’t have to look like that.

“I see that we’ve had the position of Overboss filled… three times its size,” the woman said softly.

“We weren’t exactly brought into this by choice.”

“I understand.”

“We know you understand. You shouldn’t be tied and forced to work.”

The woman smiled softly. She noticed Quinn. The woman looked pale.

“Is she alright?”

Quinn nodded. A quick shake had her alert.”

“Sorry. My wife’s been in a situation before. We wished we knew about this.”

“Apologies sir. What were you wishing to know about?”

“The fact that you’re all slaves.”

The doctor’s eyes widened. She was very tempted to ask about freeing herself and the others, albeit it seemed too early to ask such a request from an… Overboss.

“Oh! Where are my manners! My name is Mackenzie. Mackenzie Bridgeman. I’m the doctor here if you need patching up. I think our Overboss here may need to sit down for a moment.”

Quinn instantly backed up.

“I’m alright.”

It wasn’t that Quinn wanted to be rude, or to look down on the slaves. In fact, it was the opposite. She was worried for them. Knowing the situation, her goal was clear: get rid of the gangs.

MacCready obviously didn’t catch onto this. Duncan was off looking at the Brahmin to even notice the conversation. Maybe the goal was best kept to the mind of the female Overboss. After all, perhaps the idea could be discussed in a more private matter.

Duncan fed the two-headed cow some straw, until coming to realize that a couple members of the Disciples approached him. “Overboss!” they called. The boy kept his rifle handy as the masked raiders approached him.

“We heard we’ve got a kid for an Overboss. What’s your goal here.”

“My goal’s for you to fuck off.”

The masked raiders looked at each other, before chucking.

“Feisty. We like feisty.”

“Your Moms like feisty too.”

MacCready instantly approached the raiders, before overhearing his son’s savage retorts. He gave a small chuckle. “Alright, Disciples, off you go,” before the two women began to chuckle again.

“It’s day two and we’re already seeing a lot more response than Colter.”

With that, the women waved to the father-son duo as they turned around. MacCready then looked down at his son, before whispering, “You stay the heck with me.”

Duncan shrugged. “Yes, father,” he said sarcastically.

* * *

 

The gate to Kiddie Kingdom was the closest. The Disciples remained behind the trio. Duncan scoffed. “Dad,” he began, “If we distract the ghouls, I’ll climb up the towers.”

“You’re standing out the gates.”

“You know damn well I can snipe them from up the towers! I’m small enough!”

“Duncan!”

Granted, Duncan was a damn good shot… just like his father. Whether the Deadeye trait kicked in early, or Duncan just had the gift, the boy knew his way around a gun nonetheless. Quinn agreed with the boy. As long as they live and the ghouls are taken out, all’s fine to her.

Rumor had it that Kiddie Kingdom was crazily radiated by a glowing one. No one was able to catch him. However, he wasn’t feral, so he knew exactly what he was doing. MacCready was hesitant about letting Duncan in specifically because of the ghouls. After all, his first wife was killed. He didn’t want his son to follow victim as well.

Quinn put her gas mask on, before taking a more-than-average dose of Radaway. MacCready soon followed, ready to take on what was next. The disciples were already in Hazmat suits, which made Duncan crack up. They looked like tall minions following his parents.

“Well, now friends, it seems like we have another uninvited guest to the park!”

* * *

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

**I also posted a wikia-based archive on my profile. Feel free to check it out, but it's still in its early stages!**

* * *

 

**March, 2292**

* * *

The warnings of radiation poisoning weren’t myth. In fact, it was difficult to keep an eye on the effects of the Rad-X, considering the mist sprayers were on full fledge. As the hazmat suits made their way through the ghouls, Duncan stayed outside the walls, gun in hand, bored out of his mind.

When he got sick and tired of waiting, the kid looked for other ways in, through the radiation, hoping to take as little damage as possible. When he spotted a crack towards the castle, he got to climbing.

* * *

“Robbie, make sure to watch the traps!”

“On it!”

As the mercenary and the ginger made their way beyond the mirrors in the funhouse, MacCready couldn’t handle the spinning everything. “Since when did they think this was fun for kids?” He said, before vomiting into the flooded water. Quinn was able to jump each platform with ease, but her husband just sat there, groaning. “The dude’s a nutjob!” MacCready yelled from the other side, before groggily trying to make his way past the platforms. A few times he fell off, to which Quinn tried so hard to contain her laughter. When she saw the floating vomit slowly inch its way towards her husband, all that escaped her lips were, “Oh, no! Robbie! It’s the puke!”

Surely, radiated water was nothing new. Up-chuck, on the other hand…

MacCready finally made it, clothes soaking. “I hate getting wet!” he yelled. Suddenly he held his fingers up in a gesture that usually Quinn uses.

When they got to the spinning room, however, MacCready threw up again, onto the walls. Quinn remained seated as she took out the ghouls, knowing that moving would have messed up her aim. She grabbed hold of one door, opening it, as she latched to it for dear life. As “Round, and round, and round, and round,” pierced and echoed though MacCready’s ears, he remained on the ground, groaning, hoping to never see his projectile vomit that showed with the walls.

Unfortunately, Quinn touched it as she made her way to the right door.

“Dammit Robbie!” She yelled, before jumping to her husband and wiping the fluid onto his shirt. He attempted to crawl to the next room. Quinn finally aided him through the door.

When everything was upside down, he just about had it.

“Your friend there doesn’t look so good. It won’t take much time at all,”

“Yeah, yeah. Fuck you!” Quinn yelled, holding her finger up in her normal gesture.

When they got to the door, Quinn pulled a wrench from her bag, before twisting the chains. Once the door was opened, they ran back out.

“We checked the employee tunnels. Nothing there,” Nisha stated, before solemnly adding, “Except a few ghouls. They took some of our babes in bloodshed.”

When the gang reached up to King Cola’s Castle, the interior made the duo want to spend years in there. Suddenly, MacCready got anxious, needing to empty the pool.  As he quickly ran to the restroom to the left of the hall, Quinn double checked her ammunition. “Any 10mm’s around here?” she asked Nisha, before the Disciple obliged.

“Got some here, too!” MacCready called from the bathroom. The bullets were in his hand, as he finished zipping his pants up.

“There won’t be any of that green blood left when we’re finished with him,” Nisha exclaimed, rather excitedly. Dixie got very excited, releasing what sounded like an aroused moan.

As the raiders slowly made their way into the theater, Quinn and MacCready in front, suddenly…

“And now… The show you’ve all been waiting for… Oswald the Outrageous!”

The ghoul suddenly appeared atop the stage, his eyes focused on the duo. He wasn’t a typical ghoul, oh no. He was glowing green, his slits gleaming like a candle in a pumpkin.

“I’ll admit, I could tell you didn’t make it this far. I can tell you’re different from the usual invaders, so I’ll not bother you with the usual tricks and illusions I’ve used to scare off the superstitious.”

Suddenly he vanished, before the Disciples gasped with his suddenly entry on their level.

“When the bombs fell, everything changed. We changed. And somehow, I received a gift. Actual magic. The stuff of legends. Perhaps you would like to see some?”

“No, we’ve had enough for today, just talk with us, Glowstick!” Nisha liked MacCready’s phrase.

“Up!” He yelled. Suddenly, all the surrounding ghouls have risen from the dead, suddenly making their way towards any lifeforms in sight. MacCready was suddenly slit through the arm from Oswald’s sudden rigid blade, before Quinn jumped in, pushed him aside, and fired upon the ghoul. She was able to back him up, as he fired upon the ghouls that we making their way towards them. As his left arm started to bleed, he held it close to his chest. After Quinn fired the last shot she had towards the ghoul’s heart, he suddenly vanished.

“Damn!” MacCready yelled, as Quinn turned around. She pulled a stimpack from her backpack. After he wound healed, suddenly, they heard over the intercom:

“Sorry, but I’m not going out that easily. The show must go on! Meet me on the roof and we’ll end this once and for all!”

Nisha stepped back before cracking her neck. “You both go up there. We’ll secure the area and make sure there are no more tricks from that bastard.”

“Thanks, girly!” Quinn said softly.

“Anything for you, Freckles.”

As the duo got into the elevator, MacCready sighed.

“You know, we could’ve stitched me up and saved up the stimpack.”

“Shit, do you know how many they’ve got out there?”

“Not enough for us specifically.”

“Robbie, if we’re in trouble, they’ll cover us!”

“Yeah, sure, unless they hate the crap out of us.”

Suddenly, the elevator beeped, before announcing the level.

When the duo came out, they were instantly greeted by the same ghoul that tried to kill them.

“You Raiders are all the same. You come into someone’s home, steal their belongings and kill those they care about.”

“Who’s to say we’re Raiders?” Quinn had her smug grin.

“I’m not going to let you kill any more of my friends. This is our home, not yours.”

The duo gave a look at each other. Quinn sighed.

“You do realize that they’re feral. They attack people.”

“How ironic you should say something like that. We’ve defended this place for over 200 years. Do you think-”

During the argument, Duncan finally climbed his way up to the top, spotting a chained door. He grabbed a wrench after hearing the ghoul, and broke the barrier. As he slowly opened the door, he listened it.

“How many of them have you needlessly slaughtered while ignorantly thinking you’re doing the world a favor?!”

MacCready instantly got pissed off.

“As many as it took to kill my goddamn first wife and almost my Goddamn child, you shit-smearing radiated mongrel!”

Quinn’s eyes widened, her lips pursed inwards.

“Listen here, you fucking shit-for-brains Rot-head, feral ghouls are so rotted in their goddamn brains that they don’t realize they’re fucking killing children. It took everything I had to escape with my child in my goddamn arms. Since you’re so adamant on denying that ferals aren’t people anymore, I should just kill you now!” MacCready loaded his gun before Quinn suddenly attempted to stop him. Duncan suddenly made his way towards the ghoul, with his gun aimed. “Stop it!” He yelled, prompting his now-teared father to drop his gun.

“There’s no cure to being a ghoul. The radiation just rots people’s brains, their bodies change, and eventually, they go feral. There’s no stopping it.”

For Oswald to hear a child say that, he wanted to deny it. He truly did. However, he would trust a child over an adult.

“Just leave Nuka World, already!”

“I would, child, but I made a promise to keep this place safe until my Rachel finds the cure. My beloved left this place years ago to find a cure to this disease. In return, I swore that I’d keep our people safe by defending our home. When Rachel walks back through those gates with the cure in hand, then you’ll see, everyone will see, that I was right!”

Duncan kept his gun aimed towards Oswald.

“I promise you, there is no cure! You’re better off finding her and being with her!”

MacCready had already gained his composure, and approached his son, placing his hand on the kid’s shoulder. Quinn kept her eyes on Oswald.

“You’re wrong! There is a cure, there has to be. But… maybe she needs my help. If Rachel is still out there, I’ll find her and we’ll search for this cure together. I’ll gather what remains of my friends and we’ll leave this place in your care. Don’t worry about the radiation, it will no longer be a burden to you and your kind.”

Oswald then approached Duncan, before handing him the sword.

“Here, you should have this. Consider it an apology for misjudging you.”

Duncan noticed the bit of blood at the tip. Oswald bid a farewell, before disappearing.

MacCready was still angered from the heated argument. On the bright side, his son solved the quarrel. While the mercenary was aching to beat the ghoul’s brains in, he was glad his son at least showed perspective to the ghoul.

As the Disciples partied throughout Kiddie Kingdom in celebration, MacCready suddenly approached Duncan.

“You know you weren’t supposed to get in here.”

“I climbed the castle.”

“What?”

MacCready looked up. It was massive.

“You climbed this damn thing?”

“What, you don’t think I can climb? Quinn can too!”

The mercenary looked to his wife. She sat slumped up on a chair, a beer in one hand, Mutkush in the other. She was exhausted. At the same time, she saw that she was beyond unhappy. It wasn’t her vocal tone, but her body suggested that she just didn’t like the position of Overboss.

“Good job, Kid.” MacCready said, placing his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“You’re not going to yell at me?”

The mercenary scoffed.

“Yell at you? You save our lives!”

After a pause, MacCready spoke again.

“Look, I’m sorry for underestimating you most of the time. You do know I just want you to be safe, right?”

Duncan crossed his arms. He swayed back and forth before speaking,

“Dad, the more you try to keep me safe, the more I’m going to resent it and protest.”

The mercenary smiled.

“That’s just a MacCready thing I guess.”

* * *

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

 

**2292**

* * *

 

“So the ghoul’s still walking? Not necessarily handled the way I would’ve done it, but I guess we got the job done.”

“We?” MacCready snapped while attaching the new scope to his rifle. “From the looks of it my child pretty much handled it all before we put a bullet in his forehead, while you stayed comfortable up here.”

“I stayed comfortable? I helped the Pack set up to take Dry Rock Gulch. They’re all prepared as we know it. I even slipped some plans to Mason so we know how to get the job done.”

Granted, Gage did do his part.

MacCready wasn’t having it. After all, ignorance ruined his day. The evening sky painted the world orange. The reflection from the sun got into Quinn’s eyes, much to her annoyance. As she pulled out her bud, Duncan approached the ginger, handing her a box of matches.

“Mind if I have one?” MacCready asked, approaching his wife. He slumped up against the couch located upon the pile of misplaced booths. Quinn continued to stare out the window, down to the Operator who was fishing for who-knows-what. She inhaled the components, then exhaled the THC from her system. It was normal for her to smoke Mutkush. After all, it kept her anxiety levels low, mellow enough to survive.

The starry night had the duo frisky and in action. While it was uncomfortable having sex on two mattresses, both then resorted to that couch that MacCready remained slumped up against hours before.

“Is Duncan in here?” MacCready asked again, looking around to make sure his son wasn’t within sight.

“He probably figured it out and tailed it off to the arcade.”

Duncan instantly made a name for himself as Overboss, even moreso than his parents. Despite being a kid, he was rough around the edges, had a particular vocabulary that had the gangs on their feet. In fact, Mason seemed to grow enough respect for the child to want to side with him.

It was obvious who each gang preferred. Nisha showed a lot of interest in Quinn, often flirting with her, even calling her Freckles. The Operators showed interest in MacCready, knowing his reputation, and sharing his ideology in supplying caps. The Pack loved Duncan- they loved the fact that he had a fondness for animals, but not moreso the fact that they loved Duncan’s “take-no-shit” attitude. It was admirable for a kid, and they seemed to have been the only gang to not patronize him.

Again, that night, Quinn couldn’t sleep. She was up early hours in the morning, paying close mind to the emerging sun. She wanted out of being Overboss. She wanted her family to return to the Commonwealth, their lives intact, together again.

MacCready noticed her insomnia. He wasn’t happy with his position either, but did it for survival. After all, if they tried to get out, they surely would have been hunted.

He visited Mackenzie that morning. She looked worn down than usual. “Do you have anything to keep my wife awake?” he asked solemly, hoping she had a chem or perhaps even some pills laying around to have his wife wired. “Any luck with the gangs?” Mackenzie asked, anxious for good news.

“I have a plan in mind. For now we’re just playing by their rules. I’ll fill you in when the time is right.”

“If you say so,” Mackenzie wasn’t impressed. Perhaps she expected a Colter.

* * *

 

“Looks like there are bloodworms everywhere,” a Pack member noted as the Overbosses remained located outside. “They’re just about as big as Overboss BigBalls.”

“Overboss Bigballs?” MacCready looked to his son with an eyebrow raised.

“Overboss MacCready, Overboss Quinn, why can’t I have a cool name, Dad?”

Mason smiled at the kid.

The Protrectrons remained ignored while the Bloodworms were being taken care of. Duncan definitely held his own, from using the sword given to him to pierce the worms to firing on incoming ones. MacCready assumed Duncan read too many comics.

The Pack made their way to an employee barn located yonder the stadium. Apparently, Duncan was an excellent picklock.

“I learned it from my favorite foul-mouthed redhead.”

Cait.

Duncan gave Quinn the key to the ride, prompting her to make a run towards the boarded line. When she unlocked the door, a gust of warm air blew out the door. “Holy shit!” she yelled, taking her baseball cap off and wiping her forehead.

Inside were bodies of traders and bloated Brahmin. Duncan almost approached one before Mason held him back. “Careful, Bigballs. There’s bloodworms in that thing.” MacCready rolled his eyes at “Bigballs.”

“Everyone get back!”

As Quinn pushed Duncan behind her, MacCready made a shot to the abdomen, causing the dead creature to explode. Blood splattered everywhere, fortunately, not on MacCready as he got back within the time needed. Duncan began to crack up.

“Anyone with Big Balls wouldn’t have jumped like you did!” he called out to his Dad. He made an exaggerated jump, with a high pitched “AH!” to further mock his father’s backing.

“I’m not gonna lie, but your son’s right,” Mason laughed.

“Fine. The next dead Brahmin’s there. Shoot it.”

MacCready made a gesture of “go right ahead” as he swayed his arms to the dead bloated brahmin. Duncan fired, causing another bloody explosion. Fortunately, no one was hit by the blood, but Duncan didn’t jump. “Again, Overboss BigBalls,” Duncan joked, continuing his way to the ride.

Upon clearing the gulch, Mason station some of his gang to set up. He thanked the Overbosses. “I just hope everything stays in line, unlike with Colter,” he said softly, then off to announce more news to his gang.

* * *

 

In the evening, MacCready approached Mackenzie again. She began to look concerned of his frequent visits.

“Where’s your wife?” she asked solemnly.

“She can’t see this,” he said.

“See what?”

The mercenary looked around. His head was a little low.

“The slavery. She can’t deal with it.”

Mackenzie nodded. She quickly checked the mercenary to make sure he wasn't critically injured. She asked softly, “what’s the business with establishing the rest of the park?”

“You’ll see. For now, I need you to keep quiet, and suspect any slaves who could turn us in. We can’t screw this up.”

“As you say, Overboss.”

“Call me MacCready. Call my wife Quinn. Don’t bother calling my son anything, he’s worrying me.”

“How come?” Mackenzie really wanted to know the deal with the child.

The mercenary sighed. He rubbed his eyes.

“I think he’s liking this a bit too much.”

His eyes met Mackenzie's. She saw the hurt and worry. His blue irises looked glossed.

* * *

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

**2292**

* * *

 

MacCready noticed Quinn had downed a bourbon by the time he stepped foot into Fizztop Grille. With solemn eyes, he approached his wife, and gave her a tight hug from behind. She wanted to pass out at the bar, she truly did. Her eyes would close, but her brain wouldn’t allow her mind to ease.

“Is Gage in here?” he was relieved when Quinn shook her head.

She had her left hand held to the bourbon, as her right hand held her head up. She felt her husband’s calloused fingers caress her shoulders, sliding up to her neck. “After we take Galactic Zone and Safari Adventure, we send all three gangs into the bottling plant, and set fire to it.”

“Just the two of us?”

“I’m personally going there tonight to plant some explosives. Trust me, this is going to work. We lock them inside, have the slaves set it off. Whoever is outside will be taken down.”

Quinn shook her head. She grew worry over her husband’s wreckless plan.

“I’ll be back before the morning. Just trust me.”

“What about me?” Quinn’s eyes glossed from the sleep deprivation. She felt emotional over her worry. Surely the sleep was enhancing that.

“Stay put, smoke weed, lay on the couch.”

MacCready pulled a blunt from his pocket. Placing the joint into his wife’s hand, he pulled her head towards his, as he planted a kiss onto her left cheek. His lips were as rough as his fingers. Upon lighting the Mutkush, he was gone.

* * *

 

“I appreciate you doing this, MacCready.”

Harvey turned on a flashlight. The two men jumped into the Quantum stream, gun in one hand, a light in the other.

“All I hope is for Nuka World to thrive again.”

“Mhm.”

The men sparked the trip wire of the PA system. As the pre-recorded messages rang through the darkly-lit factory, Mirelurks began to emerge from their nests.

Although not much of a fight, the fact that the men were exhausted made the experience harder. Just then, MacCready spotted a suit of Power Armor just to his left, which gave him an idea.

“Harvey, look at that.”

“Oh, I see. That’s a T-51 suit of Power Armor!”

“Tell you what, stash that suit somewhere where you know the Raiders won’t find it. When we blow the heck out of this place, wear it.”

“Why don’t you wear it?”

“I saw a note from the Gunners we killed about another suit of Power Armor. I’ll take that one.”

Harvey’s eyes lit up. He felt a sense of pride and gratefulness upon the Overboss.

* * *

 

Upon killing the Nukalurk Queen, MacCready got the Nuka Cola machine working again. He began to hum a tune before singing.

“Save me some Sugar, this won’t take long,”

He stored newly-made Nuka Cola along every inch near the machine.

“I won’t promise to stay the night I won’t sing you no song,”

Newly-made Nuka Cola was stashed behind the props in the ride.

“Save me some sugar, that’s all I’ll ask of you.”

Outside the factory, he stashed some bottles behind desks, around the computers.

“You’re my old lady, but the road’s my lady too!”

Next was the trip wire, boxes of mentats, and other preparations to ensure the Raiders would be locked.

* * *

 

The next morning, Duncan had left without his parents to meet the Pack at Safari Adventure. Unfortunately, they remained asleep, allowing Duncan to reach the entrance on his own. Upon his vision, he witnessed a fight between what looked like a man in a loincloth and a… large creature.

Duncan sprang to action, firing into the large black beast. It raced towards the child, in time for the man to jump onto the creature and slice its head off.

“Little man, come!” The bearded fellow suddenly began to run, prompting Duncan to follow. The child noticed that other black beasts were roaming the park. It was too late to get reinforcements, he was already lost inside.

The man opened the door, urging the child to make his way inside. However, despite the horrible smell, he witnessed a fascinating sight.

“Cito see you help kill monster. You friend?”

“Uh, yeah, we can be friends.”

Duncan looked around and jumped when a Ghoulrilla approached him. It began to rub his hair.

“Cito glad to have friend.”

The boy looked up to the man, before nodding understandingly.

Maybe he shouldn’t have went inside the park.

* * *

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

 

**2292**

* * *

 

Quinn slowly opened her eyes to see her husband sleeping soundly on the bed. She was slumped onto the couch, albeit she had rested comfortably. The ginger stretched her joints. She then proceeded to grab a lovely breakfast of bourbon.

“Glad to see you slept well.”

Quinn turned to the man at the door. His wicked lips curved to a wicked smile.

“Gage, how long was my husband out last night?”

“Man left to party with Harvey. Seems to me like they made a trip to the gas station and brought back some booze. Harvey was out cold at the end of the night.”

The older man slumped up next to the ginger. She could smell his rotten breath. Surely, MacCready had horrible breath as well, but at least she was used to it. She grew to love it, as sick as it sounded. Gage, on the other hand…

“Your boy’s out somewhere too. Can’t find him anywhere.”

“What?”

Quinn began to panic. She frantically grabbed her pistol, and checked the ammunition. Upon grabbing some more to stash into her pockets, she instantly ran to the elevator, and pushed the button.

Upon reaching the Pack, as it would have been the first place she knew to look, Mason shrugged.

“We slept in all morning. The kid didn’t meet us here to get to Safari Adventure.”

Quinn was livid.

“You’re fucking telling me that he’s most likely there by himself?”

Mason shrugged again.

Quinn groaned, before turning around. She witnessed a Pack member being a little too obnoxious. Angered, Quinn aimed up and pulled the trigger.

“Overboss!”

“If my son’s down, we’d be even!" She then pointed to the downed Pack member. "He annoyed the fucking shit out of me!”

Quinn instantly left the amphitheater. The members all looked at the corpse, then back to Mason. He shrugged.

* * *

 

“Cito see big monsters, but Cito not know why.”

Duncan cracked his neck to pump adrenaline.

“This, home. This, family. No worry, they not hurt you. You friend Cito mean you friend family.”

The boy scratched the back of his head. He felt a sudden itch.

“And how did you end up being raised by gorillas?”

The man looked down, then back to the kid with a solemn look.

“Cito very small when first family die. First family look like Cito.”

The boy looked around and nodded. He felt half relate-able.

“Cito not die, just walk and walk. Find zoo place. Find new family. New family help Cito. Give Cito food, give water. Keep Cito safe. Now Cito big and strong. Cito help family fight monsters.”

Duncan hoped to reach a level of big and strong to be able to withhold his own.

“Uh… um, you have a lovely family.”

“You say nice thing. Cito like new friend. Now you help Cito. Family in danger. Hide here from monsters. Here only safe place. Here have no food. Here have no water. Cito go outside to help family. Monsters try to kill Cito. Cito kill many. More monsters come. Never stop. Cito scared monster hurt family.”

* * *

 

“Duncan!” Quinn instantly ran into the park, not caring what came in her way. Suddenly, a large black beast emerged from the bushes, ready to tear her limb to limb. The ginger sprang to action, sliding behind a statue, firing among the monster. It charged towards her. It tore pieces of the statue, to which she used to slide to the side, and soon onto its tail. Having her combat knife out, she climbed atop its back, and began to stab. The monster swiftly turned from side to side, attempting to knock her off its back. Suddenly, when she stabbed its spine, it suddenly became paralyzed, where she fired a last shot into its head.

Quinn quickly snuck through to the cages, before climbing atop a building. She instantly spotted the child next to a grown man in a… loincloth.

“Duncan!” she whispered, before sneaking off. She attempted to catch up as fast as she could. Within feet of the two was a sudden large black beast, the same as she had fought before. “Duncan!” she yelled, emerging from the bushes. The boy, surprised, accidentally fired, which hit the beast in between the eyes. It slumped over, having died instantly.

Quinn approached her stepson and whistled. After a short pause, she announced, “nice shot, kid!”

“You scared me, Mom!”

“Well, maybe don’t run off so I don’t have to freak out and look for you?”

Duncan looked around to see if his father was there.

“Where’s Dad?”

“Back at the mountain, sleeping like a baby. He’s had a long night.”

Quinn then looked to the man in a loincloth. Her expression was stern and disgusted.

“So, is this a way to court me, or?”

The man laughed.

“Cito think spot lady funny!”

The ginger remained confused. He was a good looking man, rather rugged and... hairy, but somehow there was an innocence to him.

“Look, Mom, the guy was raised by apes. Cut him some slack,” Duncan whispered. The ginger rolled her eyes. As they walked on towards the reptile exhibit, Duncan began to explain everything.

* * *

 

“So, you’re telling me that this dude had some old dude go in and tell him about some facility or whatever-shit-have-you, only to not have some access code, and what?”

“Says here there’s a cloning machine, Mom.” Duncan had unlocked the computer and went through its files.

Duncan moved away from the terminal. He looked at the ginger and sighed.

“We have to find an access code to get inside or else the machine will keep cloning.”

“Cito found place for man!” Quinn suddenly jumped, startled over the Jungle man's sudden deep voice.

The man approached the woman and child. “Next to big snake.”

“Snake? You mean the ride?”

Duncan had asked. Upon his exploration of the park, he noticed flyers about The Angry Anaconda.

“Big snake outside jungle! Pictures call it An-a-con-da.”

As Cito turned around, Quinn saw something she wish she didn’t see.

“My anaconda don’t-“ she said harshly, causing her stepson to laugh at her.

* * *

 

“Oh, you have got to be shitting me!”

“Now I know why you and Dad got together! You both won’t stop complaining!”

The three approached the Anaconda ride, only to see a radstorm upon the horizon.

“Let’s just get this shit and go!” the ginger yelled, right before the Geiger counter on her Pip-Boy went off.

When they approached a trailer, she began to kick at it. “Open up, dammit!” Quinn yelled, hoping to escape the radiation. Duncan sighed. “Be patient!” he said softly, before pulling out a bobby pin. Suddenly, from behind, some creatures emerged, and charged towards the trio.

“Cito see monsters!”

Quinn began to fire as the kid did his work. When he opened the door, he quickly searched the belongings next to the skeleton.

“Did you find it yet?” Quinn yelled, upon killing a few enemies.

“Got it!” Duncan called triumphantly, that was, until he noticed a giant cricket enter inside.

When Quinn and Cito finished their battle, they witnessed the child chewing onto a dead cricket.

“So what, are you going to start chirping now?”

“Mom-“

“Are you chirp-chirp-chirping that?”

“Mom! Enough of Dad’s jokes!”

Quinn shrugged as the trio made their way back into Safari Adventure.

* * *

 

When the trio made their way down into the lab, They were instantly greeted by a mother Gatorclaw. The creature was not black like the others, but white and red. It charged towards Cito but he instantly dodged it, as Quinn began to fire upon its scales. Duncan frantically searched for a terminal, before spotting a big red one next to a cage. He took charge, sprinting through the water, before falling.

“Mom!”

Quinn quickly moved and slid under the beast, firing upon it. Duncan used the distraction to get up and access the terminal.

He quickly granted it the command to shut down.

* * *

 

Albeit the machine was shut down, the beasts still remained. However, the Pack met at the gates, and Mason seemed relieved to see Duncan alive.

“We’ll take it from here,” Mason said, before his gang howled in excitement.

“Don’t hurt the loincloth man!” Duncan yelled back while the gang charged at the monsters.

Quinn looked to the kid and sighed. She then turned to Cito, who smiled widely to her.

“Cito happy friend help. Family safe now.”

“No problem, Dude.”

“Dude. My name Cito.”

“Uh, sure.”

The ginger waved to the man.

“Cito must know spot lady name.”

“Quinn.”

“Quinn. Cito thank Quinn. Cito thank Duncan. Quinn and Duncan friend.”

The man turned to ensure it was goodbye. Quinn looked down at the boy and sighed.

"What now?"

Duncan gave a very worried look to his stepmother. She raised an eyebrow to the kid. Her nonchalant manner made the boy comfortable over her next phrase.

“Look, we tell your Dad everything.”

* * *

 

“You did WHAT?”

MacCready didn’t believe a single word that his wife said. After she explained everything, hell, it even seemed too “wild” to her.

“You both have vivid imaginations, you do know that, right?”

Quinn and Duncan looked at each other.

“Fine, fine! You got us. I gave Duncan a sip of beer and his first joint. You happy?”

MacCready rubbed his eyes.

“Seems like you rode the Anaconda if you know what I mean.”

“That’s Pillow Talk, Robbie.”

“I mean you two must’ve had a real trip.”

“If you imagine a flapping loincloth with an anaconda saying Hello, yeah, I’d say you’re just about right with the ride.”

MacCready bowed his head into his arms.

The mercenary instantly gave up arguing. As he didn't look, Quinn and Duncan fist-bumped.

* * *

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

 

**2292**

* * *

 

The Operators patiently waited outside Galactic Zone with a sour mood. When the Overbosses made their way over, Mags gave an admirable nod to MacCready. “I suppose we haven’t formally met, Mrs. MacCready,” she then said, in her normal monotone voice.

“Quinn. Just call me Quinn.”

“So tell me, Quinn, why save Galactic Zone before the plant? You know damn well that we’d rather be over there supplying the caps.

The woman shrugged. Again, it was early morning. Quinn didn’t sleep as well as she did the night before, considering she didn’t smoke the daily Mutkush. In fact, she was out. Nuka World definitely did not supply it, and The Commonwealth was an hour away… by monorail.

“The terminal from the Gunners stated that Galactic Zone is occupied by robots,” said her mercenary husband, as he laid out the map. With a cigarette in his mouth, MacCready planned… planned carefully. “Duncan, you stay by your Mom. I’ll lead the way inside.”

* * *

 

Robots aren’t typical. MacCready figured they were the worst. On the bright side, The Operators were skillfully trained enough to make their victory look easy. Upon inspection throughout the area, MacCready noticed something that changed his initial plan of destroying the gangs. He spotted a suit of Power Armor, locked away.

“Says here it needs a bunch of fusion cores,” Quinn noted, as the man tried to break the glass with a sledge hammer.

Determined, he turned to his wife and son.

“We’ve got a side mission in store.”

* * *

 

With the main attractions under Nuka World’s control, Gage gave an applaud, before stating, “Now the real fun starts.”

The Nuka World map pamphlet was placed around the table again. Duncan felt like a bunch of kids were planning war, considering its childish design.

“So our next step is…”

“The power plant. We need the power plant running in order to continue.”

Gage nodded at MacCready’s plan. Perhaps the man was busy with his own homework.

“Seems like you’re on a roll.”

Quinn downed another Bourbon. Even though it burned her throat, her heart burned more. All she wanted was the gangs gone and to be back in the Commonwealth in her own bed.

“Before we do the Power Plant, however, you haven’t had a chance to meet the suppliers of our crops.”

Gage’s statement had the three in full attention. Quinn absolutely wanted no part of the actual raiding.

“I’ll go pay a visit. Quinn and Duncan can continue with forming the gangs for the Power Plant.”

Quinn felt relieved to hear her husband cover for her.

* * *

 

In the morning, MacCready led the Pack to a small settlement outside Nuka World. It was miles away. In the meantime, Quinn and Duncan worked on getting the Operators and Disciples to the power plant.

The ginger was definitely not comfortable around the brother-sister duo. Mag’s voice was calm and comforting, but it also kept her on-edge. Duncan, on the other hand, already grasped that their ideology had him interested.

The park was without power, only sourced from the giant building just outside the park. Quinn was eager to get the place going. MacCready wanted to dive right into it as well, but someone had to go collect “debt.”

Nisha heard of the Operators joining in on the fight. When they encountered the mother and step-son, they certainly weren’t happy.

“Let me check the place first.”

The leader of The Disciples definitely voiced her disapproval of working with The Operators. Quinn was able to shut her down. Oddly, the ginger had a specific charm to the bloodthirsty woman. While Mags didn’t see any charm in the Ginger, Nisha took a particular liking to her. Whether it was the piggy nose, or the freckles, the mercenary made her knees weak.

Nisha followed Quinn, as the Disciples remained behind with Duncan. The Operators quickly grew impatient, which began some words being spat out. Duncan took the liberty to shut them all down, reminding the two gangs that the place will be back up, just like it was originally planned.

Meanwhile, Quinn asked Nisha to boost her up a hanging ledge on the second floor. Quinn’s climbing skills was enough to get her around to each window, to do a head count of ghouls inside. She wasn’t a master of parkour, but she was capable enough to get by. After giving Nisha numbers over and over again, the total was already added by the time they came back. Quinn and Nisha looked straight to the brother-sister duo, then to each other.

“We’ve got at least thirty ghouls inside. That’s just my count.”

“Thirty? We’ve got more manpower.”

“Note: at least. In addition, that’s not including any bloated ones, or charred. We saw one glowing one so far, but otherwise the rest seem freshly feral.”

William and Mags both looked at each other.

“We have to remember that there is nothing that we’re going to expect in there.”

A quick nod in Quinn’s agreement was in place.

“But before we do this, we need The Pack and my husband.”

* * *

 

MacCready spotted a small farm towards the South. When they approached the family, their worry triggered a sense of compassion to the mercenary.

“We unfortunately had a hard time with this weather! There hasn’t been any rain around here!”

“Bring me the inventory,” Mason said, in a very harsh manner.

MacCready inspected the family. It wasn’t like the merchants he’d seen around the market who lived outside. He never made word with the Dunmore family, but a sense of familiarity had him feeling empathy for them. This family was weak. He easily identified the father to be a coward, judging by the way he hid away. The mother and daughter definitely have seen the worst, from what he saw.

“We allowed you to have your farm and not end up like the rest of the slaves with the agreement that we would have our crops,” Mason stated, disappointedly.

The mercenary instantly knew things were going to go to hell and he had to put a stop to it.

Mason stood there for a solid minute. He sighed.

“Now, the question is the punishment.”

“No, no!” the woman and the daughter begged. MacCready instantly grew curious of why they were most worried.

“Boss!” one of the pack members stated excitedly, as he quickly went to the girl. Mason turned away while the raider grabbed her from her mother.

“Don’t do this!” the mother called, as another pack member grabbed her.

MacCready saw the worry and hurt in the girl’s eyes. He knew damn well what was about to happen.

When he saw that the pack member began to explore the girl, he quickly raised his voice.

“Stop!”

MacCready instantly raised his gun. The pack member was confused.

“Get your fucking hands off the girl!”

He didn’t catch the curse slip from his mouth.

The pack member remained confused.

“I said off!”

The look in the mercenary’s eyes, the bitter expression of his lip quivered upward, the show of his rotten teeth had the pack member worried enough to let the girl go. She fell to the ground, sobbing.

MacCready pointed outwards, allowing the raider to move away from her. He then forced the other pack member to let go of the mother. She instantly ran to her daughter, holding her.

“Let me make one thing clear!” he began. His voice was stern, scary enough to allow Mason to pay attention.

“I don’t give a fuck who any of you are! No one lays a hand on a mother and child! Do you fucking hear me?”

All the raiders nodded in understanding.

MacCready, gun still raised, crouched down to the daughter. He whispered a question to her. She shakily, slowly moved her way to him. She grabbed him by the arms, and whispered her answer.

The mercenary made his way to the raider who began to sexually grope the girl. He pulled the trigger right to the man’s head.

Blood splattered all over his face. Perhaps brain matter also hit his cheeks. As the corpse quickly fell to the ground, MacCready pulled a handkerchief from his pockets, before wiping the blood and chunks off.

“Are we all clear?” he shouted again.

“Pack, head back!” Mason then shouted, as the remaining members started to march back to the park.

MacCready continued with the handkerchief, cleaning his gun, when the leader approached him.

“Overboss, I’ll have to say, you guys are really standing your ground. We like that.”

“Oh, really?” MacCready’s reply was muffled, yet stern.

Mason had a smile. Perhaps the alpha grew respect and admiration for the mercenary.

As Mason took off, the mercenary approached the girl again. He then asked her, “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“And how long has this been going on?”

She began to sob again. The mother held her daughter tight. He looked down.

“As long as I’m in charge here, no one’s going to touch you like that. Neither of you. Just promise me one thing, though.”

The father had wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter. His listening ears were in play.

“Just survive.”

With that, MacCready turned around. As he began to walk off, the girl suddenly left her family’s arms and hugged the Overboss around the torso.

“Thank you!” she yelled, still sobbing. MacCready left one arm free as the other softly patted her head. His favorite Grognak shirt soaked from the tears.

* * *

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

 

**2292**

* * *

 

“Your group looks significantly smaller,” Quinn commented while the Pack slowly marched to the plant.

“That’s because you and your husband’s been slaughtering my swine.”

Mason gave Quinn a smile. She didn’t notice, considering she was too focused on spotting her husband. When she saw the mercenary approach all the raider gangs, Quinn pushed Mason and ran into a hug.

“Your shirt’s soaked.”

“Sweat. It’s hot as heck out here.”

Quinn nodded. As the pack members moved to make room for the couple to approach the leaders, Quinn and MacCready slowly walked to the entrance of the power plant. “How many are in there?” he asked his wife, worriedly.

“At least thirty. Let me show you.”

While the gangs stayed behind, including Duncan, who stayed next to Gage, the duo made their way to the back of the plant.

“So, tell me the plan, Karlie.”

She paused and looked around to make sure no one was watching.

She then pulled him up close, almost looking like she was sucking his neck, before replying in a whisper:

“We’re sending the raiders in, Gage included. I’m climbing this thing, and hitting the button.”

“So delivering the ghouls their food? Like the way you think.”

Quinn pulled herself from her husband. She smiled.

“’Tis my specialty, my darling.”

The duo came back. MacCready nodded before announcing, “Everyone in front of us!”

He opened the doors. All the raiders ran in, charging.

The mercenary made sure to keep his son behind, in his sight. Gage, however, followed behind as well, which sparked a sense of nervousness from MacCready.

“What is Quinn doing?”

“Climbing the building.”

“That’s not the plan she told us.”

Gage fired at a ghoul. MacCready began combat.

“Maybe that’s because she’s pushing the button while we’re securing this place!” MacCready fired upon a few ghouls, one that almost hit Gage.

* * *

 

Quinn got to the top of the building. She took a quick breather, before sneaking her way into the utility room. The Raiders didn’t get to the roof yet, much to her relief.

She quickly came up to push the button, soon followed by the release of fireworks.

By the time the show started, the gangs have already poured out, numbers half. MacCready and Duncan made their way through to Quinn, who witnessed something she hadn’t seen for awhile.

“Good job, Babe,” MacCready said softly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

“You didn’t tell us you were climbing up here!” Mags then barked, angered.

Quinn turned around to meet the gun raised.

Suddenly, Gage stepped in.

“Because we needed to secure the damn place! That’s what MacCready said. After all, it’s going to need to be maintained.”

The two adults nodded to the raider.

“If it was just her climbing the building by herself, how do you think the ghouls would act with that? They would hear the fireworks and go straight for Nuka world!”

Gage nodded at MacCready’s statement.

“Right. Now, anyone else wanting to question our Overbosses?”

Mags lowered her gun. She sighed.

“You still should have told us.”

With the gangs heading back to the park, Gage sighed before confronting the duo.

“The two of you ‘oughta let your leaders know everything. I can’t be speaking for y’all forever.”

With that, he made his way back into the building.

Duncan definitely knew something else was up. He turned to his parents, rather furious.

“What are you planning?”

The two looked at each other, surprised of the kid’s anger.

“The obvious, taking back the park,” replied Quinn.

“Right, like when you and Harvey went out for ‘drinks?’ I know Gage is pulling ties for you, but he suspects something up too!”

Duncan turned around and walked up to the door to the plant. Before he went inside, he turned around, his face fixated to an intimidating expression.

_“I know you two don’t like to be Overboss. Maybe one day I’ll fix that.”_

Duncan made his way in. The two looked at each other, one expression more worrying than the other.

* * *

 

“You brought Quinn with!”

Mackenzie approached the ginger, her smile genuine.

Quinn hated to see that collar on the poor woman.

“We need to get rid of these gangs as soon as possible. They’re beginning to suspect us.”

“Well, good news then!” Mackenzie smiled, as she pulled out the pamphlet.

“The traps you set off is a go for us. When all the gangs head out there, we’ll collect the remaining weapons and meet you there. Every slave is involved, and none suspected of being spies. We’re precise on that!”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Sure as my life is upon it!” Mackenzie replied. Quinn liked the idea. What concerned her most though was Duncan.

“With the gangs supplied at Kiddie Kingdom, the slaves there are going to supply gas into the sprinklers. With us being at the bottling plant, that won’t be much of an issue. We have a gas line that leads to the park, to which we’ll light the match. Kiddie Kingdom will be gone, but at least we can rebuild on the rubble.”

“What about with the drought?”

“It will die down. Trust me.”

“And Galactic Zone?” Quinn chimed in.

“Chip is setting up the robots that we took out. There’s enough to take them on in surprise.”

“Safari Adventure?”

“We picked up Cito. This is where we’ll need the help: we need the cloning machine turned back on.”

MacCready rubbed his eyes. “Great, we don’t know anything about computers!”

“Chip does though.”

The last place was Dry Rock Gulch. Although some Pack members were supplied there, a plan needed to be in play.

Mackenzie sat back and gave some thought and imagination. Suddenly, she had an idea.

“What lures Bloodworms?”

“Mm?” The duo raised their heads in unison.

“Brahmin. We supply Brahmin in.”

As horrible as it sounded, it seemed like the idea would work.

* * *

 

“You and your parents have done a lot for Nuka World. We’re already thriving.”

“No shit.”

Duncan and Gage decided to hang outside Fizztop Grille, in front of the blood splatter.

“Let me tell you something, Kid. Your parents are just puppets. They’re supplying the land for us, we’re making station.”

“Mm.”

Duncan’s attention was right where Gage wanted.

His next sentence really had a hit in the gut.

“After the Bottling Plant’s taken up, I figure it’d be time to dispose of ‘em. Make you the true Overboss.”

That sparked Duncan’s attention. He looked to the older man, eyebrows raised.

* * *

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

 

**2292**

* * *

 

By the next morning, the duo kept their eyes close to the kid. He kept his eyes at them. His peripheral vision remained to his journal, to which he used to keep track of the events that took place their whole time there.

The entrance of Gage caused a lot of discomfort. There was too much negative energy in the air. In addition, it was humid.

“So we are taking the Bottling Plant today?”

“Yessir.” MacCready didn’t bother to touch any of the food in fear of there being poison.

“Loving it! Tell you two what,” Gage pulled a stool up to the duo. “I’ll go announce it to the gangs. They’ll meet us there.”

“Tell them to be careful. The Bloodworms are out.”

“Will do.”

With that, Gage got up, and made his way down. Duncan got up, only to be interrupted with an “AH!” Quinn snapped her fingers, prompting the kid to take a seat.

“I know your plans.”

“Regardless of knowing our plans, you’re not living like this.” MacCready’s voice was harsh.

“Why not?”

“I didn’t raise you to do this, Kid!” the mercenary got from his seat.

Duncan scoffed. He folded his arms.

“So with that, you’re also going to tell me that Lucy wouldn’t be happy with me?”

“Don’t!” Quinn called from the other side.

MacCready walked up to his son, then placed his hands on his shoulders.

“I’m telling you, Duncan, I know how they are. I know Gage told you that he wants to get rid of us.”

“How did you-“

“That’s not important.”

MacCready looked down, then back up to his son. He was hurting from the betrayal that the kid was planning.

“They don’t want you to be their ‘pupil Overboss.’ That’s just a typical way of a Raider trying to butter you up.”

Duncan’s heart instantly dropped.

“If you want to believe people who knowingly kill children and force anyone capable to work, fine. All I’m telling you is that they just want to use us to take over the park, then kill us.”

The kid looked down. He tried to not believe it, but it did make sense. After all, they were raiders.

At the same time, however, his father was a lying mercenary. He would steal, cheat his way, encourage a fight. His stepmother was a sex slave. She only joined the mercenary business to learn her way around the ropes and to just survive. It was all she knew.

Duncan, on the other hand… he would grow up having all he wanted.

Or maybe that was what they just told him… to butter him up, just like his Dad said.

The boy didn’t say a word. He just walked to the elevator. He pressed the button, then encouraged to think of what to do next.

* * *

 

“They’re walkie talkies.”

“Never seen these before,” Mackenzie replied. She placed one into her shirt. After thanking the mercenaries, she made a blinking gesture to another merchant. That one made contact with another. With hope in play, the traders were ready.

* * *

 

“Looks like there are Mirelurks in here,” MacCready said, while the gangs all made their way inside. The mercenaries, Gage, and the leaders remained outside. The idea of them not wanting to enter caused a lot of anxiety between the duo. When the group made their way around the plant, traders were hidden in the distance, waiting for a signal. When they all reached a spot near the mirelurk nest, Quinn began to whistle a tune.

“Dust in the Wind” was enough of a signal for the trader in charge of the bombs to set it off.

Inside, the raiders all hit the trip wire, which signaled red lights in a distance. When they freaked, they huddled to any exits, only to find out the doors were barred.

The trader with the button pressed down.

The group suddenly jumped and got down after the windows in the building exploded.

Quinn and MacCready quickly ran behind a truck to ensure a firefight was going to begin.

“What the hell?” Gage yelled, before getting up. William helped Mags to her feet, while Mason quickly grabbed his gun. Nisha had already ran to take cover.

She was suddenly hit on the foot from a trader’s bullet.

They began to fire at the raiders. Nisha began to crawl her way towards cover, that was until Quinn shot the helmet off her head.

“Nisha!” Mags called, which prompted the woman to crawl even further to safety. Quinn kept firing, but kept missing. A trader hit her in the back, but not in a spot fatal enough.

MacCready kept his aim to Gage. Of course, the raider had it out for the mercenary more than his wife. After all, he should have known what he and Harvey were up to.

When Gage got hit in the bicep, he took cover, and began to run off. Mags and William both called him out on it, calling him a coward as he ran.

Mason wasn’t focused on his party. He was focused on getting blood.

Out in the horizon came Mag’s and William’s co-conspirator Lizzie. She found out about the plan just a little too late, and fired like a madwoman. The odds certainly weren’t in the favor of the two mercenaries who were backed behind a truck.

Dixie showed up behind and grabbed Quinn, prompting MacCready to put his aim to her. She didn’t have her mask, and her eyes were thirsty for Quinn’s intestines. The ginger attempted to break free, only to have a slight slit on her throat. MacCready tried to concentrate, before he felt time slow down. He pulled the trigger, right as Dixie’s jaw dropped and her tongue came out in a hungry, suggestive manner.

She dropped from the ginger, her knife following. As MacCready was in the open, Nisha took the advantage and fired into his back, towards his shoulderplate.

“DAMN!” he yelled, falling to the ground. Quinn panicked, holding her husband, as she searched frantically for a cloth to patch his back with. “Just put it on my back!” he called, in pain, while she quickly taped the gauze onto the wound.

In an eye-for-an-eye moment, Nisha suddenly had a bullet to the head. She slumped over, a pool of blood forming around her. The bullet came from an unknown source and direction. The raider leaders panicked, firing at anyone for dear life. Quinn and MacCready took the moment to escape the fight, as the ginger held onto the mercenary’s back to keep the wound from bleeding out.

* * *

 

Quinn suddenly grabbed her walkie talkie, before yelling, “Kiddie Kingdom! Kiddie Kingdom!”  As the duo ran towards Nuka Town, suddenly, they were startled by the giant explosion on Kiddie Kingdom. Obviously, the plan was working. The idle traders who blew up the park sprang to their feet and helped deliver the duo back to the mountain. When the duo got to the bottom of the mountain, they were instantly greeted by Duncan.

“Gage went up into the tower.”

“Are you alright, Duncan?” MacCready tried to bend over but the muscles of his shoulderblade were just too much.

“Fine. Killed the bitch who fired into your back.”

MacCready was surprised to see that Duncan pretty much avenged him… practically.

The mercenary placed his free hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Thanks.”

The trio pushed the button to the elevator, guns raised. When they got into the Overboss’ headquarters, it was oddly… quiet. The trio quickly took cover by the bar.

“What changed your mind, Kiddo?” MacCready asked his son.

Duncan thought about it for a good minute.

“You’re my parents.”

* * *

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's. I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.**

* * *

 

**2292**

* * *

 

“It’s over, Gage!” MacCready calmly called. Upon Quinn’s Pip-Boy, he was likely located at the other end of the bar. MacCready held his gun out, but unfortunately got his scope shot off… again.

“I should’ve followed you and Harvey that night! Knew you were up to shit!”

“Gage, it’s over.”

MacCready wasn’t getting through to the raider.

“Dude, would you rather die so dishonorably?” MacCready turned to Quinn with a confused look. She shrugged.

Suddenly, shouts came from the door. “Nuka World is Ours!” whoever was behind shouted. Gage remained where he was.

“Look, Gage, the gangs were falling apart as-is. Might as well, you know, put out a sick dog.”

MacCready had a point.

“It wasn’t the gangs I was worried about. I’ve had my fair share of ‘em that fell apart. Every last one.”

“Then why are you fighting?” yelled Duncan.

“Because I know y’all will kill me.”

“Because you fucking suspected us. If you were on board with it we wouldn’t have had to.”

Quinn had a point. If Gage found out, who knows if he would have helped.

But he knew he wouldn’t have.

“I know I wouldn’t have.”

“Well, I guess that’s all, folks,” MacCready called out, before getting up. He quickly ran towards Gage, his concentration at full capacity. The speed of the mercenary’s actions had Gage’s leg blown off.

“God dammit!” he called, holding onto what was left.

“Another thing is, you shot my scope off. It seems like an ongoing thing.”

MacCready’s back still hurt nonetheless, but having Gage bowed the way he did had his spirits up.

“I respect you, MacCready. You did great at this.”

The mercenary reached on the counter for another bullet. “Is that what you told my son? From what I heard, I was great at being a puppet.”

“You’re a mercenary! You’ve always been a puppet!”

MacCready pulled a cigarette from his pocket, before reaching for Quinn’s box of matches. He finished reloading his gun.

“Now who respects puppets?” the mercenary asked, rhetorically, chuckling, before pulling the trigger. Blood and matter splattered everywhere. Quinn pulled Duncan back, trying to block his view.

“Nah, let him see. Boy needs to know the real shit.”

Quinn and Duncan didn’t notice that MacCready cursed.

Hell, he didn’t even notice.

Duncan approached the corpse, before doing a gesture of prayer. It felt like the man went too easy, perhaps he just didn’t want to fight anymore than he did.

“To tell you the truth,” MacCready said before pulling a beer from the refridgerator, “I probably would have went with the Operators, say they didn’t hold slaves and wanted to rape people.”

“Rape people?” Quinn got a bit confused. She took a seat at the bar, on the opposite end of the corpse. Duncan kept looking.

“They harassed a family outside the park. Raped a little girl. She told me they all did it.”

Quinn’s heart dropped.

“I know they do this shit to traders too. If they gave an ounce of a shit to women and children, maybe. I just know I wouldn’t convince them.”

Duncan didn’t step away from the corpse. The duo noticed. They had to pull him away.

When the trio got down from the tower, the traders have captured prisoners. Among the prisoners were Mags and William. It turned out they were the only surviving raiders, savor Fritsch, who just looked on with a smile on his face.

“Overbosses! Would you do the honors?” one of them called.

“You do whatever you want,” MacCready yelled back, holding his wife’s hand. His back still hurt. As the trio left the park, towards the monorail, Duncan looked back. He couldn’t see what happened to the leading Operators, but he wanted to know.

* * *

 

Upon coming back to the Commonwealth, Quinn loudly sighed. “Home, sweet, home!” she called. As the trio made their way back up, things didn’t seem to look any different. That was, until they actually got home. Sure, the concrete barriers were built up for awhile, but it looked like more houses were made.

“Cait! Open up!” MacCready yelled, slamming on the door. Instead, a completely new stranger did just that. “Just who are you?” the Minuteman called.

“The General’s mercenaries. We’re back with some news for him!”

The Minuteman didn’t seem convinced. That was until Nate actually showed up.

“My God, you three! You all look terrible! MacCready, what happened?”

He didn’t say a word. Instead, the mercenary walked in, showing a hand gesture of “follow me.”

* * *

 

“So Nuka World is clear for Minuteman expansion, now?”

“Not just that, but the people there need supplies and care.”

After the three sat down with Nate in his still-deteriorated home in Sanctuary Hills, the three proceeded to tell him what exactly happened there. They explained every detail. The more Nate heard, the more he wanted them to stop.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he said, especially looking down at the kid.

The three stood up. Quinn was aching for her bed. Duncan followed her out, while MacCready and Nate talked some more.

“Mom!” he called, as the ginger began to walk across the street. She turned around.

He took a moment, from rubbing his arms to looking around.

“I’m sorry I considered killing you.”

Quinn took a moment and sighed.

“I don’t think the fact that we’re your parents changed it.”

“No, I guess not.”

“Well, what did?”

Duncan folded his arms. He looked around again, then down to his feet. He bit his tongue, before finally telling her the truth.

“I’m sorry for losing trust in you. When you two left, I felt abandoned, and I thought that you would have abandoned me if you stayed as Overbosses.”

Quinn put her hands on her hips. She arched her back backwards, he head following. She yawned.

“How did that change?”

“When you worried about me. The way you always worry about me, Mom. I just never saw it.”

Quinn looked down to her stepson.

“Dad always worries about me too.”

Quinn sighed.

“We love you, Kiddo. We always will. You know that we will, and knew that the Raiders wouldn’t.”

“Exactly.”

Duncan followed Quinn back to their home. He was excited to see Mushkeuts, but also more excited to get some sleep as well. After all, that was one thing he didn’t get to do at Nuka World.

* * *

* * *

 


End file.
